The present invention relates to digital and print-on-demand printing systems; and more particularly, to a high-speed printer controller system which is configured to control a multitude of print engines simultaneously.
Similar to the computer industry, which has moved from awkward and incompatible machines and software to user friendly, cross-platform capable systems; the industrial and commercial printing industry is also moving toward software and systems which simplify the technical requirements for performing a print job. Conventional print engine controllers are unable to control a plurality of print engines, especially a plurality of print engines having different marking technologies. Furthermore, conventional print engine controllers rasterize bitmap data at the resolution (i.e., dots per inch "DPI" or dot pitch) of the particular print engine which the controller is designed to operate. Thus, such print engine controllers cannot simultaneously control a plurality of print engines with different resolutions.
Accordingly, there is a need in the digital print-on-demand industry for a printer controller system which can interface with and control a multitude of print engines simultaneously; especially a plurality of print engines which may respectively include a corresponding multitude of different marking technologies or a corresponding multitude of print engines having different resolutions. There is a need for an on-demand mechanism which allows the dispatching of bitmap data to any of the multitude of print engines in any order and at any time. Furthermore, there is a need for an on-demand mechanism which is flexible and allows the various print engines and/or marking technologies to be interchanged within the system without having to reconfigure the software of the controller or redesign hardware of the controller.